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Clement Malochet Discusses the Year-Round Appeal of Chateau d’Esclans
A brisk January afternoon in the heart of London is hardly an obvious time or place to be enjoying rosé wine. However, despite traditionally being a drink for sunnier climes, one French vineyard is attempting to transform rosé into a tipple to be enjoyed all-year-round.
Superyachts.com sat down with Clement Malochet, Sales Director for Chateau d’Esclans, to find out more about the heritage of this highly popular wine and his company’s efforts to persuade people that it can be enjoyed far beyond the environs of St Tropez.
We began by asking Mr Malochet to tell us where the Chateau d’Esclans brand originates from.
“Chateau d’Esclans comes from the South of France in the Côtes de Provence area,” he said. “It’s nearby St Tropez, the famous place for summertime, but nearby Cannes as well. It’s thirty minutes from Cannes and let’s say one hour from St Tropez and it’s a beautiful place.”
And how would he describe the pedigree that Chateau d’Esclans holds?
“It’s a good question because Sasha Lichine, the owner, bought the Chateau in 2006,” he said. “He was looking for a property there to make something very different because Côtes de Provence is very famous for rosé wine, and Sasha came and asked a good friend called Patrick Leon who is a consultant with us, to make the wine.”
“We make four rosés. We make Whispering Angel, which is a brand within the brand because it’s so popular. The name for the ladies is very trendy and emotional. It’s very exciting to say ‘let’s have a glass of Whispering Angel’, it’s very nice.
“Number two is Chateau d’Esclans, then we have Les Clans, and then we have Garrus. Garrus is our high end product. It is the more premium rosé we are making and we thought maybe it’s a good idea to bring Garrus tonight to let people taste this wine. I think it’s a good combination to have this wine with the yachting people.”
For those who haven’t visited the Chateau, what would he say are the ideal surroundings for enjoying Chateau d’Esclans?
“I would say that, as you said at the beginning, we are in London, it’s winter time, and let’s drink rosé,” he said. “This is the real idea of Sasha; to make a very nice full range of rosé to drink all year round, not just for summertime.
“If you asked people five years ago what is rosé for you, when do you drink this wine, I would say 90 per cent of the people would say we drink it in summertime between May to September or end of August, with a lot of ice in the glass. But Sasha’s idea was to make a full range of rosé, very typical wine, to drink all year long.”
You can watch the full video interview with Clement Malochet above this article.